The present invention relates to disk drivers, and more particularly to a disk driver in which a disk is inserted from the outside.
A disk driver, such as a so-called floppy disk, in which a disk is inserted to be driven, generally is equipped with mechanisms for loading the disk therein and ejecting it therefrom.
In a conventional floppy disk driver, the disk is inserted and loaded in a holder 114 shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. The term "a holder", as used herein, means a member for holding a disk and moving it from a position where the disk is inserted/ejected to a position where information is recorded on and/or reproduced from the disk. The holder 114 having no disk therein stays at a first position 101 in FIG. 1A apart from a rotary table (not shown) and a head 113. The rotary table rotates the disk for recording and/or reproducing. On the other hand, the holder 114 having a disk 117 therein moves to a second position 102 in FIG. 1B, and then is held there to load the disk 117 by a holding member. Information is recorded on the disk 117 and/or reproduced therefrom at the second position 102. When the disk 117 is being ejected, a slider 115 located between the holder 114 and the frame 116 releases the holder 114 from being held by the holding member. The term "a slider", as used herein, means a member for sliding along the X-axis in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B in cooperation with a pushed eject button (not shown) to release the holder 114 from being held by the holding member by means of mechanical operations, and additionally the slider moves the holder 114 between the first position 101 and the second position 102. The slider is generally equipped with means for ejecting the disk from the holder. When the disk 117 is inserted into the holder 114 at the first position 101, a head 112 attached to an arm 111 stays at a third position 103 where it does not hit the disk 117. After the disk 117 has been inserted into the holder 114, as shown in FIG. 1B, the holder 114 descends to be held at a second position 102. Accordingly the arm 111 is connected to the holder 114 and thus move with it, so that, the head 112 moves from the third position 103 to a fourth position 104 where it can record information on the disk 117 and/or reproduce it therefrom. The head 113 has already been located at a position where it can record information on and/or reproduce information from the disk 117 in the holder 114 at the second position 102. When ejecting the disk 117, the slider 115 beneath the holder 114 slides along the X-axis in cooperation with a pushed eject button to release the holder 114 from being held. Since the slider 115 is engaged with guide pins 118 mounted on the frame 116, it can slide along the X-axis. Consequently, the holder 114 moves to the first position 101 so as to eject the disk 117 therefrom. Thus, while the disk 117 is inserted/loaded and ejected, the holder 114 moves accordingly from the first position 101 to the second position 102. And the head 112 also moves from the third position 103 to the fourth position 104. The holder 114 and the heads 112 and 113 are provided on the frame 116.
Incidentally, FIGS. 1C and 1D show a conventional relationship between the front panel 120 and an eject button 121. The slider 115 comprises an attachment portion 115a at a front end to which the eject button 121 is attached. The eject button 121 is located beneath the holder 114, and it is impossible to further miniaturize the attachment portion 115a and the eject button 121 from the stand point of being able to manipulate this button. The slider 115 further comprises inclined grooves 115b which are engaged with pins 114a projecting from the holder 114.
It is required that disk drivers themselves be made smaller and thinner due to the recent miniaturization of disks. Accordingly, the above magnetic disk driver has a space between a top surface of the holder 114 at the first position 101 and the top surface of the head 112 at the third position 103. A part of the space is indispensable for preventing the head 112 from hitting the inserted disk 117, however most of the space is not used so that the magnetic disk driver cannot be made thinner. Besides, it is not suitable to make the slider 115 thinner or to make the height of the guide pin 118 smaller from the standpoint of design strength. That is, the slider is formed by punching and/or bending a wide plate of steel. Therefore, if making the thickness of the slider is made thinner, the slider becomes deformable and the inclined grooves 115b are moved so that the holder 114 cannot stably move between the first and second positions. Moreover, it is impossible to make the front panel 120 thinner along the Z-axis because of the arrangement of the attachment portion 115a and the eject button 121.